Wellbeing at Sea: A Guide for Organisations

By Connie Gehrt and Georgina J Robinson

This book is aimed at all those in managerial and organisational roles in the maritime industry who have a duty of care for seafarers. Ensuring that seafarers are safe and in good health results in a workforce enabled to perform its duties in an optimal way. Seafarers play a key role in the success of the maritime industry, yet their welfare can be neglected. This can be costly, not only to the seafarers, but for businesses too. In recent years, the importance of employee wellbeing has become evident; employees who are physically and mentally fit are usually more productive and less prone to accidents. For those at sea, wellbeing comes with its own challenges, with seafarers undergoing prolonged periods of isolation and having limited access to services. As well as physical and mental wellbeing, topical areas include how to: ·         improve organisational culture and wellbeing ·         deal with conflicts, bullying, discrimination and harassment ·         defuse crisis situations ·         overcome fatigue and manage seafarers’ workloads. Written by experts in the industry, this title offers practical advice on improving individual and corporate wellbeing. With useful appendices that include templates and checklists for quick reference, Wellbeing at Sea will help employers to fulfil their responsibilities to their employees, and ensure excellence in the physical and mental wellbeing of all those at sea.

• Language: English
• Publisher: TSO
• Release date: May 29, 2020
• ISBN: 9780115539534

Connie Gehrt

Connie S. Gehrt has a long experience with occupational health and safety at sea and has been working in the maritime industry since 2002. Connie is the managing director and owner of the consultancy company CONOVAH - Health and Safety Solutions, which, among others, provides consultancy and training worldwide on wellbeing, stress management, suicide prevention, bullying and harassment, leadership, ship–shore communication and safety, and provides global psychological crisis counselling. She has been doing a study on loneliness at sea and she provides leadership and business coaching. She is also a counsellor at the Danish Suicide Prevention Lifeline. From 2007–2017 Connie was the managing director of SEAHEALTH, Denmark. During her management SEAHEALTH developed to be a worldwide recognised organisation for providing important tools and guidelines for the industry. Before that Connie worked as a special advisor and chief counsellor for the Danish Maritime Authority. She has a master’s in law from University of Copenhagen and a master’s in the psychology of organisations from Roskilde University. She also has coaching and leadership education from DISPUK.

Book preview

1Introduction

This section provides a general overview of wellbeing and explains how a commitment to high standards of wellbeing can help an organisation to achieve its goals.

1.1 What is wellbeing and why is it important?

1.1.1 Overview

The most valuable asset for any organisation is dedicated and skilled staff: people who work hard to deliver the organisation’s objectives on a daily basis. Often the focus is on production processes, management policies and practices designed to deliver production targets, but at the expense of paying sufficient attention to the very thing that makes those processes work: the people.

Employees who are physically and mentally fit are usually more productive and less prone to accidents. The organisations that employ them benefit from fewer absences and lower staff turnover. In short, organisations with good wellbeing are more likely to have a competitive advantage.

Wellbeing is about achieving a state in which you feel engaged, healthy and content. It isn’t just about your physical health but also about your social, emotional and mental health. If you achieve a state of good wellbeing, you’ll cope well with challenges, feel good about yourself, and be able to form and maintain meaningful relationships. Put simply, wellbeing affects how well you function in everything you do in your day-to-day life – including work.

There are clear legal, moral and practical reasons for attending to the wellbeing of staff at all levels of an organisation. We’ll look at these in more detail throughout this guide.

The hierarchy of needs

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) describes attention to wellbeing as creating an environment to promote a state of contentment which allows an employee to flourish and achieve their full potential for the benefit of themselves and their organisation.¹

This can be explained in a model developed by the American psychologist Abraham Maslow: the hierarchy of needs model (see Figure 1.1). Maslow’s model shows how an individual’s motivational needs range from basic survival to achievement of their full potential. Crucially, only once a lower level of need has been fully met is someone motivated to take the next step. For example, an unemployed person may be more interested in finding a job – any kind of job – before they look to develop a permanent career.

Organisations that are able to help staff climb the hierarchy of needs and achieve their full potential are more likely to reap the rewards of a highly motivated and productive workforce.

Of course, people are motivated in different ways and they don’t all wish to climb the hierarchy at the same rate. Moreover, self-actualisation/achieving full potential will occur at different points in the overall career structure for different people, depending on their ambition, potential, capability, etc. An organisation should therefore be flexible in its approach to staff development and career opportunities. However, ambitious staff who are unable to achieve their full potential are more likely to suffer degraded wellbeing and reduced performance, and may seek alternative employment.

Figure 1.1 Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Source: Motivation and Personality, Abraham Maslow, 1954, Harper and Brothers

1.1.2 The psychosocial approach

The psychosocial approach is a way of looking at how organisational, workplace and individual factors combine to impact an individual’s physical and mental wellbeing, as shown in Figure 1.2. In the working environment, this means the values, beliefs and practices that are demonstrated throughout the organisation and how these factors interact.

This guide aims to help shipping companies develop and implement effective policies and practices to enhance mental and physical wellbeing onboard and ashore. It focuses primarily on the first two of these factors: the organisation and the workplace. The individual factors are described in more detail in the companion publication, Wellbeing at Sea: A Pocket Guide for Seafarers, which provides practical information and guidance to help individuals maintain a high level of wellbeing.

Together, the two publications look at how these three factors impact the wellbeing of staff at all levels and across all functions in an organisation: onboard and ashore, from the most junior members to the most senior.

The psychosocial approach clearly shows that responsibility for wellbeing is shared between the organisation and its staff. Organisations should be responsible for creating a working environment and culture that actively supports and promotes high levels of wellbeing. Individuals also have a role to play in making sure they understand and follow best practice and actively engage in creating a healthy working environment.

Figure 1.2 The psychosocial working environment

Thought: Organisations may wish to develop and publish wellbeing policies that clearly identify the shared responsibility for wellbeing.

1.2 Incentives and indicators for wellbeing for the shipping organisation

While there are obvious moral, ethical and legal reasons for looking after the wellbeing of your seafarers, and all other staff, it is increasingly recognised that a healthy workforce is very beneficial for employers. A healthy workforce requires a healthy working environment, both physically and culturally. Employers have both a responsibility and the capability to make this happen.

A positive and proactive commitment to seafarer wellbeing that is clearly communicated, understood and believed throughout the organisation can make a significant improvement to the health and wellbeing of those onboard and to organisational performance and productivity. ‘Believed’ is key here: organisations must follow up on statements in